Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

13 October 2022

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Q3 and 9M 2022 Production and Operations review

Production of 14,309 gold equivalent ounces in Q3 2022

Cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer operating in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide a production, sales and operations review for the three and nine months to 30 September 2022 ("Q3 2022" and "9M 2022" respectively).

Operational update

·   Transformational acquisition of rights to three new concessions with significant copper reserves was passed into law on 5 July 2022

·    Zafar mine design has advanced well

o Portal location has been identified close to the processing facilities

o Geotechnical drilling is complete, with drill core testing underway

o Underground mining fleet and ancillary equipment have been selected for purchase

Production update

·    Q3 2022 production of 14,309 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") (Q3 2021: 16,316 GEOs)

·    9M 2022 total production of 43,081 GEOs (9M 2021: 48,487 GEOs)

·    Full Year 2022 ("FY 2022") production guidance of 54,000 to 58,000 GEOs maintained

Cash and inventory update

·   Cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022 (30 June 2022: $21.2 million) with the following payments made in Q3 2022

o Final 2021 dividend of $4.0 million

o Profits tax of $0.3 million

o Further investment of $0.8 million in Libero Copper & Gold Corporation

o $1.2 million paid for the acquisition of exploration data and associated studies and reports relating to Garadagh and Xarxar from AzerGold

·  An interim dividend for 2022 of US 4 cents (Sterling 3.5559 pence) per ordinary share will be paid gross to shareholders on 3 November 2022

·   The Company had inventory at market value of $15.5 million at 30 September 2022 (gold and silver bullion of $11.8 million and copper concentrate of $3.7 million)

Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:

"The Company is delighted to report a good third quarter and year to date performance. Production figures remain robust, with total production of 14,309 gold equivalent ounces in the quarter, which remains largely in line with the output in the same period in the previous year. Copper production totalled 609 tonnes and silver totalled 45,063 ounces, an increase in production relative to the prior year period.

"We are also pleased to report an excellent advancement of the new mine at Zafar. Geotechnical drilling is complete, and the drill core is now in the process of being tested. We remain on track to bring Zafar into production in 2023.

"We look forward to updating the market on our strategy for developing of our new mines and the three new license areas in due course."

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, which was incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.

For further information please contact:

Notes to editors:

Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 64,610 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2021.  

In December 2021, the Company undertook a private placement which acquired 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). The transaction was completed in January 2022. Libero is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and owns, or has the option to acquire, several copper exploration properties in North and South America, including Mocoa in Colombia, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum resources.    

On 5 July 2022, the Government of Azerbaijan ratified amendments to its Production Sharing Agreement, granting Anglo Asian three additional concessions totalling a combined area of 882 square kilometres. This includes the Garadagh porphyry copper deposit, with a Soviet classified resource of over 300,000 tonnes of copper. The acquisition of these concessions is transformational to Anglo Asian's asset portfolio and underpins the strategic target of transitioning into a mid-tier copper focused miner.

https://www.angloasianmining.com/

Production overview

Q3 2022

·    Total production of 14,309 GEOs (Q3 2021: 16,316 GEOs)

·    Gold production of 11,087 ounces (Q3 2021: 12,847 ounces):

o 10,473 ounces contained within gold doré

o 33 ounces from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening ("SART") processing

o 581 ounces from flotation processing

·    Copper production totalled 609 tonnes (Q3 2021: 573 tonnes):

o 208 tonnes from SART processing

o 401 tonnes from flotation processing

·    Silver production totalled 45,063 ounces (Q3 2021: 36,912 ounces):

o 6,949 ounces contained within gold doré

o 24,020 ounces from SART processing

o 14,094 ounces from flotation processing

9M 2022

·    Total production of 43,081 GEOs (9M 2021: 48,487 GEOs)

·    Gold production of 31,993 ounces (9M 2021: 37,096 ounces)

·    Copper production totalled 1,892 tonnes (9M 2021: 1,906 tonnes)

·    Silver production totalled 144,562 ounces (9M 2021: 115,843 ounces)

Sales

·    Q3 2022 gold bullion sales of 10,000 ounces at an average of $1,727 per ounce (Q3 2021: 6,828 ounces sold at an average of $1,815 per ounce)

·    Q3 2022 copper concentrate shipments totalled 1,618 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $3.1 million (excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q3 2021: 3,549 dmt with a sales value of $5.7 million)

Company financials

·   The Company had cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022 ($21.2 million at 30 June 2022). The Company made the following payments in Q3 2022

o Final dividend for 2021: $4.0 million

o Profits tax: $0.3 million

o Further investment in Libero Copper & Gold Corporation: $0.8 million

o Data purchase from AzerGold: $1.2 million

Zafar mine update

·    Mine design and geotechnical sampling for construction planning is well advanced for the Zafar mine

·    A site for the portal has been identified close to the Company's existing processing facilities and about 1,000 metres from the planned underground gallery. Geotechnical drilling has been completed and the drill core is now being tested

·  Underground mining equipment has been selected with the major drilling equipment being supplied by Epiroc and the mining and loading equipment being supplied by Caterpillar. The procurement of auxiliary and support is also well advanced from regional suppliers mainly located in Turkey

Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales

The Company mined the following amounts and grades of ore in the nine months to 30 September 2022:

* There have been some minor changes to the previously reported figures following the reconciliation of ore stockpiles.

The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

* includes previously heap leached ore.

The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by flotation for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022: 

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share

The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching for Q3 2022 is as follows:

The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

Note

 * including Government of Azerbaijan's share.

Certain amounts for SART and flotation production may differ to those previously disclosed due to final reconciliation of production.

The following table summarises total copper concentrate production and sales for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022. Note that sales of concentrates are initially recorded at provisional amounts until agreement of final assay.

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

**ENDS**